ISSUE 1, 2021

INTRANET CREATING A MORE

INSIGHTS MODERN, VISUAL AND INCLUSIVE INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS TOOL

Mid 2019, we decided to build a successor to Barry Callebaut’s intranet. It was important to us that right from the beginning we aim for a solution that is aligned to how we all use and communicate via digital tools in our private lives. Our goal was to create a platform where sharing information, best practices, and celebrating success is easy for all. The Workspace tools allowed us to do just that.

By Raphael Wermuth Head of Digital Communications, Barry Callebaut

oday, internal communications com- content management system to which only petes amongst an array of attractive a few people have access to and can con- channels people use in their private tribute with content. Tlives. We all have access to news every- where and anytime. We share, we like, we comment, we con- nect with people, we follow what we deem interesting and what we think is relevant for us. “ Most of this, we do with our mobile phones. Inside company walls, Within company walls, the world still looks very different, with traditional intranets the world still looks prioritising top-down communications, a very different.

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Bringing internal Testing Google Currents communications to the showed its top-down next level ‘News’ potential... After six years, our intranet desperately Barry Callebaut was an early adopter of needed a technical upgrade. As such, in Google’s work productivity tools, with Goog- mid 2019 we decided to embark on a new le+ used across different teams and depart- internal communications journey at Barry ments to share best practices, knowledge, Callebaut. Our goal was to become more and discuss certain topics. modern, more visual, more inclusive. However, the tool was far far from being With the green light from top manage- widely used across the organisation. We ment, we started putting together our wish knew Google was planning to introduce a list, asking our employees what the future new, upgraded version of Google+, and solution should offer them. We analysed were able to get an early beta test access the market, looked at trends, and bench- to the new Google Currents. Now working marked other companies. closely with the tool, we saw its potential for becoming the new home for all our Having been a (for- company internal, top-down news. merly G Suite) customer for some years, we also looked into whether and how we With a group of around 100 colleagues could leverage the tools we already had. across the organisation, we started a com- Ideally, our new solutions should not add a prehensive four-month testing phase. new tool or channel. The feedback we gathered was overwhelm- While closely looking at the Google tools, ingly positive, with employees remarking we came across Google Currents (formerly on the -like approach of Goog- Google+) and . le Currents and the ease of consuming offi- cial Corporate Communications news.

“ Barry Callebaut Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, Barry Our goal was to become Callebaut is the world's leading manufacturer more modern, more of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, mastering every step in the value chain from visual, more inclusive. the sourcing of raw materials to the production of the finest chocolates.

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...and Google Sites can became the largest community our com- pany ever saw with over 1,300 members become the home for all - from home office tips & tricks, sharing the rest motivation and business success , up to joint company-wide challenges peo- Our decision to go with Google Sites was ple could join. obvious from the get-go: it offers much more flexibility to present content than It was the first real-live test of how Google+ our classic intranet was able to do. Also, can bring together our employees. no special knowledge is required to use it. Anyone can become and be an editor. All kinds of content that is stored on Goog- le Drive can easily be shown on Google Sites while maintaining one single source of truth: no more versioning conflicts with “ , or the need to upload a new file -be We knew that the cause there is an updated version. new solution would be quite a "game Agility is key - especially in changer" for many of times of the Corona Virus our colleagues. Pandemic This real-live test gave us the confidence While the COVID-19 pandemic brought that we are on the right track. We decided many new internal communications chal- to completely build our nextGen (social) lenges, it also presented us with the oppor- intranet solution on the available Google tunity to live test our new digital solution. Workspace tools, using Google Currents Early 2020, most office workers at Barry for the news and social intranet part and Callebaut moved into their home offices. Google Sites for all other (static) content. From one day to the next, working remote- ly was the new normal. Thanks to the Goog- le Workspace tools, this posed no problem at all from an IT point of view. The tools proved to be extremely stable and reliable. For us working in Corporate Communica- tions, this was also the time we started to make use of Google+ for the first time: In March 2020, in a truly agile mindset, we established a community where everyone could become a member. We aimed to digitally replicate the ‘Barry The nextGen (social) intranet solution based on Google Currents is more like a newsfeed we all know from social Callebaut family feeling’ during the COV- media - more modern, more visual, more personal, and ID-19 pandemic. Within a few months, it more engaging.

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Google Currents your place for Barry Callebaut news

With Google Currents you can consume Barry Callebaut news the same easy and personalized way you do in private - be it global, regional or local news. Currents is also a place for sharing interesting topics and connecting with other colleagues around the world.

SEARCH

TAGS, PEOPLE & COMMUNITIES Use the search bar to find content that is relevant to you. Tip: You can also use it to You can follow Tags, People, and find Communities or people. become a member of Communities you are interested in.

HOME NEWSFEED

Your newsfeed is showing posts with the tags and people you are following, plus posts in Communities you are a member of.

STREAMS

Check out the Global and your Regional INTERACTION news Stream. This is your direct access to official global and regional Barry You can like posts using the "Thumbs Callebaut news. up" button, add a comment, or reshare the post into another Community.

Curret ersio auary 2021 Cororate Couicatios

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Through a series of ‘How-to-videos’, we showed our colleagues what Google Currents is - and how they get the most out of it.

Soft launch to accommodate them curious about checking it out, further spreading the word to the ‘early majority’. early adopters and prepare This approach also helped us to still have for the ‘big bang’ enough time to prepare all the necessary communications and training material for Despite the positive feedback we gath- the ‘big bang’ launch on Feb 1, 2021. ered with our new idea, we knew that the

new solution we had in mind would be quite a ‘game-changer’ for many of our colleagues. Knowing the 1Law of Diffusion of Innova- tion, we wanted to make sure our ‘innova- tors’ and ‘early adopters’ in the company “ would help us in spreading and adopting We wanted to make our new innovative idea. sure our "innovators" Starting in September 2020, four months before the official launch, we started to and "early adopters" build our new solution on the ‘live’ envi- can help us in spreading ronment. More and more, we made chosen stakeholder groups in the company aware and adopting our new of it, advertising our new solution, making innovative idea.

Note: 1Diffusion of innovations is a theory that seeks to explain how, why, and at what rate new ideas and technology spread. Rogers, Everett (16 August 2003). Diffusion of Innovations, 5th Edition. Simon and Schuster.

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A constantly evolving tool, continue to change, as will we. We now have a future-proof set-up that still offers a with the flexibility to adapt lot of flexibility to adapt to our needs. to our needs At the time of writing this article we are a month into the official launch of our new social media solution. We are halfway through our communica- tions and training campaign. RAPHAEL WERMUTH Head of Digital Communications at Barry Callebaut

Working in the Corporate Communica- “ tions team, Raphael Wermuth is over- It’s much more aligned seeing both the internal and external to how we all consume digital channels and tools of the Barry Callebaut Group headquartered in Zu- news these days. rich, Switzerland. He has more than 15 years of experience in the classic PR & We continue to work on optimising areas communications work. with our community of editors. But the response so far is very positive and looks In the last five years, he built the digital promising. Our new solution is much Corporate Communications function in the world’s largest chocolate manufac- aligned to how we all consume news these turer, with the goal to bring the Group’s days. Our colleagues are also welcoming communications activities to the next the benefits of an all-in-one tool. level: more digital, more visual, more But it doesn’t end here: the good news is personal, more relevant. that these tools will further evolve and

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